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Mar 2015 Statistics

Commentary: March quarter 2015

Read more about personal insolvency activity in the March quarter 2015.

Personal insolvency activity in the March quarter 2015

Quarterly personal insolvency activity in Australia

Key points

Personal insolvencies fell 8.7% in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014. There were falls in all three types of personal insolvency.

Bankruptcies fell 11.2% in March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014.

Bankruptcies have fallen in four consecutive quarters compared to the same quarter in the previous year. All of these falls have been higher than 10%.

Debt agreements fell 4.1% in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014. This is the first annual fall in debt agreements since the March quarter 2013 compared to the March quarter 2012.

Personal insolvency agreements fell 6.7% in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014.

Total personal insolvency activity

Total personal insolvency activity fell 8.7% in the March quarter 2015 (6989) compared to the March quarter 2014 (7655) and increased 1.5% compared to the December quarter 2014 (6888).

The fall in total personal insolvency activity in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014 was the result of falls in total personal insolvency activity in:

New South Wales (-12.4%)

Queensland (-9.9%)

Victoria (-7.1%)

Western Australia (-7.3%)

Tasmania (-5.5%)

South Australia (-0.5%).

These falls were partly offset by increases in the Northern Territory (45.7%) and the Australian Capital Territory (19.0%).

The 8.7% fall in total personal insolvency activity in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014 follows an 8.1% fall in the December quarter 2014 compared to the December quarter 2013.

Total personal insolvency activity in Australia: % change compared to same quarter in previous year

Bankruptcies

The number of bankruptcies fell 11.2% in the March quarter 2015 (4379) compared to the March quarter 2014 (4932) and increased 4.8% compared to the December quarter 2014 (4179). This is the fourth consecutive quarter where bankruptcies fell more than 10% compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

The decrease in bankruptcies in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014 was the result of falls in the number of bankruptcies in:

New South Wales (-17.5%)

Queensland (-11.1%)

Victoria (-7.7%)

South Australia (-8.7%)

Tasmania (-12.2%)

Western Australia (-2.6%).

These falls were partly offset by increases in:

Northern Territory (52.6%)

Australian Capital Territory (25.6%).

The 11.2% fall in bankruptcies in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014 follows a fall of 13.7% in the December quarter 2014 compared to the December quarter 2013.

Bankruptcies in Australia: % change compared to same quarter in previous year

Debt agreements

The number of debt agreements fell 4.1% in the March quarter 2015 (2568) compared to the March quarter 2014 (2678) and fell 3.3% compared to the December quarter 2014 (2655).

The fall in debt agreements in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014 was the result of falls in the number of debt agreements in:

Queensland (-8.2%)

Western Australia (-14.6%)

Victoria (-5.2%)

New South Wales (-2.4%).

These falls were partly offset by increases in:

South Australia (24.8%)

Northern Territory (37.5%)

Tasmania (10.0%)

Australian Capital Territory (11.1%).

The 4.1% fall in debt agreements in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014 follows a rise of 2.5% in the December quarter 2014 compared to the December quarter 2013.

Debt agreements in Australia: % change compared to same quarter in previous year

Personal insolvency agreements

Personal insolvency agreement activity shows higher volatility than bankruptcies and debt agreements due to the smaller numbers recorded each quarter. Personal insolvency agreements comprised 0.6% of total personal insolvency activity in the March quarter 2015.

The number of personal insolvency agreements fell 6.7% in the March quarter 2015 (42) compared to the March quarter 2014 (45) and fell 22.2% compared to the December quarter 2014 (54).

The fall in personal insolvency agreements in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014 was the result of falls in the number of personal insolvency agreements in:

Victoria (-42.9%)

New South Wales (-25.0%).

These falls were partly offset by increases in:

Queensland (42.9%)

Western Australia (25.0%)

Australian Capital Territory (1 personal insolvency agreement in the March quarter 2015, an increase from 0 in the March quarter 2014).

There was no change in the Northern Territory and Tasmania.

The 6.7% fall in personal insolvency agreements in the March quarter 2015 compared to the March quarter 2014 follows a fall of 10.0% in personal insolvency agreements in the December quarter 2014 compared to the December quarter 2013.

Personal insolvency agreements in Australia: % change compared to same quarter in previous year